Egbert j



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT J. KYLE, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 346,112, dated July 27,1886.

Application filed February 2 7, 1886. Serial No. 193,430. (X0 model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. KYLE, a citizen of the United States,residing in New York city, in the county and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Buttons; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to theletters and figures marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the construction ofbuttons,and of the device for fastening them to the fabric.

The objects of my invention are to provide a button that can be fastenedto the cloth in a firm and durable manner; to provide a fastening devicethat will not make large holes in the cloth, but that will inclose aconsiderable portion of the cloth between its arms or prongs, and,lastly, to so construct the button that it will readily admit thefastener.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top view of my improvedbutton. Figs. 2, 3, and et are vertical sections of the button andfastening device applied to the cloth. Fig. 5 is a view of the fasteningdevice, and Fig. 6 shows a special form of shank for the button.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the different drawings.

a is the face of the button. This face consists of the outside ring orborder, which may be made in any desired form and pattern, and thecircular middle portion. This middle portion of the face is curved orbent, as shown in Fig. 1, forming two similar opposite grooves that runparallel with each other. These grooves are nearly semicircular in form,as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Iprefer this form of face, though theform of face shown in my application for Letters Patent No. 185,911 mayalso be usedthat is, where the groove runs entirely around the button inthe form of a circle; or, again, a plain face may be used with a diskunderneath curved in the manner de scribed.

B is the back of the button, provided with a shank, d, at its centralpart. The back and face of the button are attached together in any usualmanner. The shank (l incloses a filling material, which may be made ofleather or any suitable substance. The filling material ex tends up tothe face of the button. There is but a single hole in the base of theshank, and the metal around this hole is bent in so as to form a sort offunnel-shaped mouth for the opening. This funnel-shaped mouth is anessential feature of my invention, as hereinafter shown.

e is the staple. (See Figs. 2, 3, 1, and 5.) The staple could be made ofplain wire; but I prefer to make it, as shown, with an extended base,and two or more arms projecting from it.

The arms are made inclining outward. In Fig. 5 this is accomplished bymaking a short portion of the arm, near its base, extend inward, andthen bending the arm upon itself, so that the rest of it projects upwardand outward. Other forms of staples having outwardly-projecting arms orprongs may be used. The arms of the staple are first forced through thecloth. The effect of their being outwardlyinclined is that a larger partof the cloth is inclosed and engaged between them than with the ordinarystaple. The poi nts of the staplearms strike the lower part of theinclined sides of the funnel-shaped mouth, and the arms, following theseinclined sides,are guided into the hole in the base of the shank andthen into the filling material. The arms are so made (see Fig. 5) as togive, without bending,enough to enable them to be thus guidcdinto thehole in the buttons. The curved side I) of the groove in the buttonsface commences at such a relative distance from the center of the buttonthat when the arms of the staple have been forced through the fillingmaterial their points strike this curved side I) somewhere near itsbase, and bend around, following the semicircular curve I) c outwardaway from the center of the button, and are thus forced again into thefilling material, which forms a bed to receive and hold these arms. Thestaple-arms are thus bent into the form of complete hooks, every part ofwhich is firmly gripped and held by the fillingfmaterial,making aperfectly firm joint. sharpened and may also be barbed. The face andback of the button may be made of any suitable metal, as also thestaple. I

Fig. 6 shows a form of button that may be used with my fastening device,where, instead of the usual shank, a piece of metal made in the form ofa hollow cone with an opening at the The points of the staple-arms are,7

top is attached to the back B, and serves the same purposes as a shank.In this form the filling material is placed between the face and back ofthe button.

WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a button having a part of its face or of a diskunder the face inclined or curved downward to guide or turn the arms ofthe staple, and a back having in its shank a hole with afunnel-shapedmouth, and a filling material, with a staple having yielding armsinclined upward and outward to inclose a larger portion of the clothbetween the arms, substantially as and for the purposes set forth,

2. The combination ofa button-having its face or a disk under the facecurved into'two opposite and parallel grooves, so as to bend or turn thearms ol'the staple, and a back having in its shank a hole with afunnel-shaped mouth, and a filling material, with a staple havingyielding arms inclined upward and outward toinclose alarger portion ofthe cloth between the arms, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

3. A staple having two or more yielding arms inclined upward and outwardto inolose a larger portion of the cloth between the arms, combined witha button having its face or a disk under the face constructed to turnthe staple-arms, and having in its back an opening with a funnelshapedmonth, against the sides of which the points of. the staple-armsstrike,and by which the staple-arms are forced toward each other, so asto become parallel, or nearly so, before entering the button,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

ROBERT J. KYLE.

\Vitnesses:

Ronnn'r N. KENYoN, EDWIN SEGER.

